Last night, I was invited to see Cai Guo-Quiang ignite his gunpowder drawing, Chaos In Nature, for his upcoming April 8th exhibition Sky Ladder at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. It was definitely a treat to see the world-renowned Chinese contemporary artist put on the final touches and see the group of volunteer assistants working together to make art.
Cai Guo-Quiang, in orange, pouring gun powder…
Image may be NSFW.
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Volunteer assistants laying over stencils…
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When they were ready to ignite the gunpowder, we all had to move away from the barrier and sit ourselves on the bleachers. The actual ignition lasted for just a moment. And like most things that go bang, it was pretty cool to see.
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The resulting smoke triggered MOCA’s fire alarm system. And that was my cue to leave. On my way out, I snapped this picture of the almost final product. You can see them starting to install the finished panels. Pretty cool.
Image may be NSFW.
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Overall, it was a fun way to pass some time and has made me more anxious for the exhibition opening.
